By Jay Roberts
(resident classic/melodic rocker)

I had originally planned to just type up the list itself, but I wanted to contribute a bit of commentary as well. While there has been a lot of music coming out since the last time we had to write our lists up and check them twice, I have to admit that I have found a lot of what I’ve been hearing this year kind of lackluster. Yes, I think it’s been a down year for music. Maybe it is just music for me, but I get the sense that a lot of people have been disappointed with the overall quality of the available words and music hitting store shelves.

Of course that means that finding those rare gems that make you love music all that much more makes slogging through the putrid stuff worth it. I didn’t even get to do the review for the album that I have as my #1 album of 2007. I ended up just borrowing it from the Boss-Man and found my butt being sonically kicked all over the place.

This year’s list is filled with a 3 prog-metal discs, 3 melodic rock albums, a couple of powerful heavy metal releases and two female singer songwriters who absolutely rocked my musical world. One is a veteran of whom I am a longtime admirer. The other is a bright new face on the scene and if she continues in her career as well as she has started out, the world just might end up being her oyster. I’ve got more to say, but first here’s the list itself.

#10.) ENEMY REMAINS - S/T

#9.) OVERKILL - Imortalis

#8.) CHRIS CAFFERY - Pins and Needles [Review]

#7.) KELLY KEAGY - I'm Alive [Review]

#6.) PRIDE OF LIONS - The Roaring of Dreams [Review]

#5.) THRESHOLD - Dead Reckoning [Review]

#4.) FREDERIKSEN-DENANDER - Baptism By Fire [Review]

#3.) KATE VOEGELE - Don't Look Away [Review]

#2.) MARIA MCKEE - Live Acoustic Tour 2006 [Review]

#1.) SYMPHONY X - Paradise Lost

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The Symphony X disc just blew me away. It’s still progressive metal, but there is a definite sharper edge to the music, a heavier metal sound. And man alive, Russell Allen just attacks the lyrics with a far more vicious edge to his vocals. It’s fantastic.

Maria McKee, oh how I love Maria McKee. It’s very hard for her to do something I don’t like I will admit, but this concert recording was funny, poignant and all around awesome.

Kate Voegele’s debut didn’t strike me as something that would interest me when I first saw it in the pile of new material to review, but first impressions were definitely wrong. I loved it from the second I put it in.

Melodic rock continues to be a prime staple of my top ten list and all three discs on it come from Frontiers Records. It shouldn’t be a surprise though; they are the premier label for melodic rock in the world. Oddly enough, if I recall correctly, Jim Peterik was involved in all three of the albums as well. Pride of Lions is his band, and he wrote and played on the albums from Kelly Keagy and Frederiksen-Denander. As always, his involvement lends a big air of class to the proceedings.

Chris Caffery and Overkill keep my head in the metal game. Caffery continues to raise his profile with his solo recordings not too mention his various side projects. And let’s not forget his big showcase in the holiday extravaganza, Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Overkill stuffs Immortalis full of all sorts of metal goodness. It is the second album in a row where the band, for me anyway, just shreds far and away better than anything they’ve ever done. Well, except for The Years of Decay, which remains one of the greatest metal albums ever recorded.

Threshold took me by surprise with their latest offering. I know they’ve been around, but I never got into them. Now this album comes along and it’s like WHOOOOAHH! Where have I been all this time?

The big surprise entry on my list was Enemy Remains. They are a relatively new band, unsigned out of Connecticut. I saw them at Locofest this past September and they were excellent. The disc was a free handout from the band and it combined the prog metal sensibilities of Fates Warning with some classic power metal vibes. What more can you possibly want?

Well, there you have it dear readers, my top ten albums of the year and my various explanations and justifications. What were your favorites?